Married to former rugby player Mark Gilbride for the past six years, the couple remains in Brisbane where Gilbride, 37, now works in commercial real estate and Geitz focuses on her media career.

Geitz says she made the decision to return to professional play following her son's birth thanks to Netball Australia having initiatives in place to help support mothers returning to the game, but says it was like she and her husband were "two ships in the night".

"There were times where we'd sit down with our diaries and our calendars and try and figure it out," she tells 9Honey. "We'd go, 'How does this next week look?' And things chop and change.

"It was pretty full on and quite stressful at times.

"That's why we're enjoying the moment to take a little extra time with Barney and just for me to be a mum on back-to-back days instead of being a mum here for a full day and then being away for a couple and then back on."

'We did our best to make it work'

Geitz says despite the fact it was a juggle and stressful at times, she and her husband did their best to make both of their careers work.

"With the new netball agreement supporting mothers getting back in play, which is fantastic, that allowed us to hire a great babysitter who became a part of our family," she says.

Geitz says she's always known she wanted to be a mum, with family playing a "huge part" of her life from a young age and felt nothing but "excitement" when she discovered she was pregnant, despite being at the peak of her career.

"For me, family is priority number one and everything always comes behind family," she says.

"Both Mark and I wanted to have a family and we are just so lucky and blessed that it happened for us," she says.

"I think for any mother, when you first welcome a baby into the world it's life-changing and I think for those early months I was -- he was a relatively easy baby -- but I remember being slightly sleep deprived thinking how would I cope with this, and rocking up to training and the physical and mental exhaustion playing has on you.

"I couldn't imagine it being possible."

After a while Geitz says she managed to get back into the swing of things.

"I just knew I hadn't completely exhausted my love of the game and that I wanted to return to play."

At this point in the conversation with 9Honey, Barney falls over and starts crying. Geitz picks him and up continues the conversation, saying after having Barney the game changed for her.

"As a mum, and especially in those early couple of months, you become totally consumed," she says. "Things like exercising, for example, go well and truly down the list of priorities.

"This is something I really struggled with, because a huge part of my life was staying active," she says. "Even during pregnancy I had trouble getting my head around not training at the level I was used to."

Back to peak fitness

Postpartum, it took time for her to get back to an elite level, not to mention fitting exercise in around her son's schedule.

"The other side of being tired was prioritising Barney and making sure he was well cared for," she says.

"As a professional athlete you are quite selfish in a lot of ways, prioritising training," she says. "That's how I really changed. Barney is now my top priority. As much as you try to return professionally and be everything and do everything, some times it's hard to make it work."

Geitz says she wants to spread the message to as many mums that while returning to work and fitness is possible following childbirth, it's still a challenge, even for her.

"When I got back to training it was just like a switch had been flipped and I felt more positive about myself," she says. "It all just came back to me."

She says staying healthy is important not just to her, but also for Barney.

"It's important for me to be the best that I can be, not just for Barney but also for myself," she says.

Geitz hopes more companies adopt similar programs to assist parents returning to work.

"There's so much research to suggest that for women and girls, being active increases self-esteem and confidence in yourself," she says. "When becoming a mum for the first, second or third time, it takes a certain amount of confidence to get back to work.

"Someone once said to me, 'If you win the first hour, you win the day'."

Which is why Geitz aims to exercise as early in the day as possible.

"For me, getting up and exercising in the morning feels like I've kicked off the day in the right way, and I well and truly have a hold on things."

She says the Back in Game website includes resources for women looking to improve their fitness, and the videos are easily accessible.

"It's great to be able to exercise in the comfort of your own home, and with many of them you can include your baby in the routine," she says. "I think they particularly enjoy being close to you and being involved."

While Geitz sometimes loves to exercise with Barney around, she also makes sure to take some time out for herself.